12/14/12

I didn't want you fretting over getting the plastic bag poodle, so I'm giving you other options. All of these come from the Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Ideas 1974 magazine. There's some mighty fine ummmm...well...junk to choose from.

Who wouldn't want to crack alligator nuts?

Yeah, scare the heck out of your favorite kid by sticking Jimy-Jim on their wall. I wonder if it glowed in the dark. Now that would be cool!

This item might have actually worked, but I included it because, well, it's just so doggone odd looking. It takes industrial design to a new level.

I remember these little figures. I hated these little figures. I STILL hate these little annoying figures. And don't get me started on "Love is...."

1 comment:

"One person's trash/junk is another person's treasure" is a concept that always has been and always will be true. However, I cannot imagine anyone giving any one of the above items as a Christmas gift, except maybe for the football helmet hanging lamp that would be enjoyed by some football fans. Similar lamps are still popular in some circles but now mostly are replicas of actual team helmets.

But back to the trash/treasure idea . . . Some years ago [maybe 12 to 15 years ago] some well-meaning person gave me a rather large gift certificate to a snooty restaurant. Sorry, that's not my style. I never did use that gift certificate. The Brussels Boy would have at least served a purpose, even though I would have only used Coca-Cola in it. :)

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Tattered and Lost: FORGOTTEN DOLLS

A journey via vintage snapshots through the world of dolls and their owners from the early part of the 20th century to the 1960s. This is volume 7 in the Tattered and Lost Vernacular Photography series.

BUCKAROOS AND BUCKARETTES

Tattered and Lost: Buckaroos and Buckarettes is a collection of vintage snapshots for those who remember riding the range when they were kids. These adventures usually consisted of sitting in front of a black and white television or running around the neighborhood with our shiny six-guns strapped to our sides. Our imaginations created entire worlds that never existed. We sang along with our heroes, convinced that with a song in our heart and a six-gun on our hip we could vanquish evil. This book is dedicated to all the other buckaroos and buckarettes who rode their imaginations into the sunset while humming Happy Trails.

CAKES, PICNICS, AND WATERMELON

Collecting vintage photographs starts out innocent enough with a few snapshots here and there, but at some point it becomes a bit more obsessive and you find yourself longing for the next image that makes you laugh or ponder the irrefutable confusion of being human. This book, Tattered and Lost: Cakes, Picnics, and Watermelon, the fourth in a series, shows the quirky world of sharing food from the 1890s to the 1970s in the United States. Sit back and enjoy watching people cut cakes (some people do it with such style!), go on picnics without your relatives, and watch people eat watermelon. Yes, eat watermelon. An odd category for sure, but one sure to make you smile.

Vernacular Photographs

Tattered and Lost: Vernacular Photographs, is volume 1 in my self-published books showing photos from my collection. Photographs play off each other on facing pages asking the viewer to come to their own conclusion as to what they are looking at. Included is a photo of the Pennsylvania Railroad S1 steam locomotive, designed by Raymond Loewy, on display at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. And one of the few known copies of a photo taken by Rudolph D’Heureuse in 1863 proving there were indeed camels used by the U. S. Cavalry is included. So take a step back in time and visit with some folks who long ago smiled and said “cheese” never knowing how long those smiles would last.

TELLING STORIES

In need of writing prompts? Looking for a gift for a friend who loves vintage photographs? Tattered and Lost: Telling Stories is now available from CreateSpace and Amazon. Click on the image to find out more!

CHILDHOOD

A new and expanded edition of Tattered and Lost: Childhood. Available at CreateSpace and Amazon. Better price, more pages, larger trim size. Click on the image to read more about it.

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BOOKS FOR THOSE WHO LOVE EPHEMERA AND VERNACULAR PHOTOGRAPHY

WHAT IS TATTERED AND LOST EPHEMERA?

Tattered and Lost EPHEMERA is about some of the items in my collection including: letters, postcards, valentines, menus, recipe books, children's books, magazines, greeting cards, paper dolls, vernacular / found photos, and whatever odd things I find stuck in the nooks and crannies of this house.

This site is affiliated with Tattered and Lost PHOTOGRAPHS.

So much paper, so little space.

About Tattered and Lost

Photographs of the ordinary by the ordinary.
All photos are from my private collection. They may NOT be used in any manner without my permission. I retain all copyrights for everything published on this site unless specified as belonging to someone else.